3/22: Marlies This Week

With the ink just dry on his new two-year contract with the Maple Leafs (he’ll play on an Amateur Tryout Contract for the balance of the 2010-11 campaign before the entry level deal takes effect next season), 22-year-old winger Tyler Brenner will join the Marlies in time for tomorrow’s game in Grand Rapids. Your weekly Marlies release:

“The [Kadri-less] Marlies dropped both of their games last week. Toronto traveled to Syracuse on Friday night and suffered a 1-0 loss to the Crunch. Timo Pielmeier turned aside all 30 shots he faced for his first career AHL shutout, and Kyle Palmieri scored mid-way through the third period to give Syracuse the win. Ben Scrivens made 23 saves on 24 shots in the game. Luca Caputi returned to the Marlies line-up after missing the previous 43 games due to injury.

On Saturday, the Marlies were defeated 3-1 by the Adirondack Phantoms at Ricoh Coliseum. Korbinian Holzerâ€™s second goal of the season was the lone Marlies goal in the loss. Greg Scott and Fabian Brunnstrom both collected assists on Holzerâ€™s third period marker. Goaltender Michael Leighton recorded 38 saves and was the gameâ€™s second star; while Harry Zolnierczyk notched the game-winning tally for Adirondack.

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Notes:

– The Marlies have posted a record of 9-6-1-2 over their past 18 games. They sit two points out of third place in the North division standings.

– Torontoâ€™s penalty killing unit has been solid through the first 72 games this season, ranking first in the AHL with an 86.9% success rate. Toronto has allowed only 10 power play goals over their past 27 games.

– Ben Scrivens has appeared in 10 straight games for the Marlies and has posted a 4-5-1 record with a 2.07 goals against average and 0.930 save percentage during that span. Scrivens ranks third in the AHL this season in save percentage (0.926) and seventh in goals against average (2.26).

– The Marlies 19 road victories currently rank first (tie) in the North Division and fifth (tie) in the Western Conference. Toronto has only two more road games remaining on their 2010-11 schedule.

– Mike Zigomanis paces the Marlies in scoring this season with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists). Zigomanis also leads the team in power play points with 18.

– Defenceman Jake Gardiner made his AHL debut on Friday night in the Marlies 1-0 loss to Syracuse.

– Torontoâ€™s 202 goals so far this season ranks second in their division and sixth in the Western Conference.

– The Marlies will play seven of their final eight games against North Division opponents.

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Upcoming Opponents:

The Marlies begin their two game week on Wednesday when they travel to Grand Rapids to take on the Griffins at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins are currently one of the AHLâ€™s hottest teams, going 8-1-1-0 over their past 10 games and have won two straight. The Marlies hold a record of 2-2-0-1 against Grand Rapids through their first five meetings this season. Ilari Filppula paces the club with 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists).

Toronto returns home on Saturday to face off against the North Divisionâ€™s top team, the Lake Erie Monsters. The Marlies have struggled against the Monsters this season through their first five matchups, posting a record of 1-4-0-0. The Monsters have won five straight contests and are 8-2-0-0 over their last 10 games. The two clubs will meet two more times after this weekendâ€™s tilt. Ben Walter paces Lake Erie in points this season with 57.

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Reading Report:

The Reading Royals currently rank first in the Atlantic division with a record of 40-20-2-3. Reading clinched a playoff spot and first place in their division last week. The Royals have won two straight games and play their next game on Wednesday in Gwinnett.”

Alec Brownscombe is the founder of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He was also the editor of the 2009-13 Maple Leafs Annual magazines. You can contact him at [email protected]